Jason Sudeikis

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Jason Sudeikis bigraphy, stories - American actor

Jason Sudeikis : biography

September 18, 1975 –

Jason Sudeikis ( born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, voice actor, writer and comedian. He has been a Saturday Night Live cast member since 2005, and has also appeared on 30 Rock and The Cleveland Show.

Early life

Sudeikis was born Daniel Jason Sudeikis in Fairfax, Virginia. His mother, Kathryn (née Wendt), was formerly a travel agent at Brennco and was president of the American Society of Travel Agents. His father, Daniel Joseph Sudeikis, is a vice president of business development.Stated on Who Do You Think You Are?, May 11, 2012 His uncle is actor George Wendt, who is best known for his role as Norm Peterson from Cheers. His maternal grandmother’s father was photographer Tom Howard. He is of Lithuanian and Irish descent on his father’s side, and German and Irish ancestry on his mother’s.http://www.albionseed.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I1&tree=sudeikis

As a child, Sudeikis moved with his family to Overland Park, Kansas, which he considers his hometown. He attended Brookridge Elementary School before transferring to Holy Cross Catholic School; both are located in Overland Park. He began high school at the Jesuit Rockhurst High School in 1990, later transferring due to academic reasons to Shawnee Mission West High School.

Sudeikis occasionally references Kansas in Saturday Night Live sketches. He is also a longtime Kansas Jayhawks fan and has worked University of Kansas themes and well-known Lawrence, Kansas, locations into several sketches on SNL.

Career

Early career

Sudeikis began performing at ComedySportz (now Comedy City) in Kansas City. After moving to Chicago, Sudeikis studied at the Annoyance Theatre and ImprovOlympic, where he was one of the founding members of the long-form team J.T.S. Brown.

He was later cast in The Second City’s National Touring Company, and also performed with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. In the early 2000s, he became a founding member of Second City Las Vegas. He continues to frequently perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre’s weekly improv show ASSSCAT 3000 in New York City.

Saturday Night Live

In 2003, while a regular performer at Second City Las Vegas, Sudeikis was hired as a sketch writer for Saturday Night Live, and would occasionally make bit appearances as audience members or extras. In May 2005, he became a featured player on the show, and was upgraded to repertory status at the beginning of the show’s 32nd season on September 30, 2006.

He became known for his impersonation of American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, as well as one-half of the Two A-Holes with Kristen Wiig.

Other work

Sudeikis had a recurring guest role on the NBC series 30 Rock with friend Tina Fey in early 2007, appearing in a total of seven episodes. He played Floyd DeBarber, a love interest of Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon. He made another appearance as Floyd in a 2008 episode, and appeared again in the Valentine’s Day episode airing February 11, 2010, along with Jon Hamm and Dean Winters. Sudeikis last appeared in three episodes towards the end of the show’s 4th season in 2010.

Sudeikis did voice work for the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV, playing the role of right-wing radio host Richard Bastion. He also appeared in the 2008 comedy What Happens in Vegas, playing the role of Cameron Diaz’s ex-fiancé. In July 2008, Sudeikis co-starred with Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio in the Lorne Michaels-produced web-series The Line on Crackle.

Sudeikis appeared in the film The Bounty Hunter, released in March 2010. He co-starred alongside Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, playing a colleague of Aniston’s character, who falls in love with her.

Sudeikis is currently a voice actor on the FOX animated comedy series The Cleveland Show. Sudeikis provides the voice for Holt Richter, Cleveland’s wannabe hipster neighbor, as well as the voice of Terry Kimple, Cleveland’s hard-partying high school buddy, who now works with Cleveland at the cable company. After previously being credited as a recurring guest in season one, Sudeikis was bumped up to a series regular beginning in season two.